This application claims the priority of application number 10254131.0 filed in Germany on Nov. 20, 2002, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a removable roof for a motor vehicle. Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to a removable roof for a motor vehicle passenger car, which covers an opening between a windshield frame and a vehicle body frame structure of a body of the passenger car extending behind vehicle occupant seats, said roof comprising dimensionally stable material and, on the one hand, is held in position by a form-lockingly acting fixing system and, on the other hand, by a locking system.
The subject matter of this application is related to commonly assigned application Ser. Nos. 10/716,867; 10/716,942; and 10/716,943, filed herewith and based on respective German application Nos. 10254108.6; 10254130.2; and 10254132.9.
A manually mountable or demountable roof for a passenger car is known from German Patent Document DE 41 37 344 A1. It extends between an upper member part of a windshield frame and a vehicle body frame structure behind backrests of vehicle seats. The body frame structure comprises a rollover bar system which spans a vehicle occupant compartment of the passenger car transversely to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The roof is formed of a dimensionally stable material and is constructed as a one-piece component, in which case, by means of a fixing system and a locking system, the roof is held in position on the member part of the windshield frame and on the body structure respectively.
From British Patent Document GB 1,162,627, a removable roof of a passenger car is known which has articulated side members. As a result of these side members, the roof can be changed into a folded and into a stretched position respectively, in which stretched position, the roof with corresponding supporting bodies engages in each case in an approximately U-shaped groove on a windshield frame and on a rollover bar respectively.
German Patent Document DE 1 580 535 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,659) relates to a folding top for motor vehicles which is detachably fastened to a windshield frame and a rollover bar spanning a vehicle occupant compartment. In this case, the roof interacts with the windshield frame by means of an inflexible locking system and with the rollover bar by means of an elastic fixing system.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,358 relates to a body for a passenger car, in which case a connection member is provided between a windshield frame and a rearward body structure, which connection member extends in a longitudinal center plane of the passenger car and bounds roof openings. Detachable roof elements can be inserted into the roof openings and rest independently and separately from one another on the connection member.
It is an object of the invention to provide a removable roof for a passenger car which, by means of a fixing system and a locking system, is securely held on a windshield frame and on a vehicle body frame structure extending behind vehicle seats. However, in this case, it should also be ensured that the handling of the roof is simple for the mounting and the demounting and that the fixing system and the locking system are distinguished by a good functioning and by easily implementable components.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, this object is achieved by providing a removable roof for a motor vehicle passenger car, which covers an opening between a windshield frame and a vehicle body frame structure of a body of the passenger car extending behind vehicle occupant seats, said roof comprising dimensionally stable material and, on the one hand, is held in position by a form-lockingly acting fixing system and, on the other hand, by a locking system, wherein the roof comprises two roof elements fitted together without hinges in a longitudinal center plane of the passenger car, each roof element cooperating with the windshield frame by a first fixing device and a second fixing device of the fixing system, and cooperating with the vehicle body frame structure by a locking device of the locking system.
Important advantages achieved by means of the invention are that the roof elements, in conjunction with the first fixing device and the second fixing device as well as the locking system, easily withstand the occurring stress which is a result of the given construction of the windshield frame and of the rearward vehicle body frame structure which represents, for example, a rollover bar system. Because of this construction, the manual mounting measures for fastening the roof elements on the passenger car and detaching these roof elements from the latter can be carried out rapidly and without effort, for example, by one person. The components of the first and second fixing devices can be changed at acceptable expenditures and can be accommodated at the roof elements or the windshield frame. The same correspondingly applies to the locking system which is in each case operative between the roof elements and the rearward vehicle body structure.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.